Small victory for AMD

AMD eclipses Intel with 1.1GHz Duron chip

AMD today begins shipping a 1.1GHz version of its low-cost Duron processor.

Although it represents only a slight speed increase over the company's previous top offering of 1GHz, the new processor widens AMD's slight lead over rival chipmaker Intel.

Intel's own low-cost processor, the Celeron, topped out at 900MHz in desktop machines and will be surpassed after Intel's announcement today of a new faster batch of chips.

Intel's fastest mobile Celeron is now a 933MHz chip.

By bringing the desktop Duron to 1.1GHz, AMD increased its lead in the only product line in which it has a clock-speed lead over Intel.

AMD is probably hoping this week will go better than last. On Tuesday, AMD announced it would close two fabrication plants in Austin, Texas and lay off 2,300 employees. On the same day PC vendor Gateway announced it would only be using the company's chips until its current supply was depleted.